there are some changes that need to happen. but it's not the death of conservatism. >> bret: that's it for us. make it a great weekend, fair, balanced and unafraid. >> harris: this is the fox report. tonight, it's been 11 days since the super storm hit the east coast. now a mayor forced to take controversial measures to deal with growing anger and tremendously long lines for gasoline. and the story breaking wide open on this friday. the head of the nation's central intelligence agency general petraeus resigns over an affair with his biographer. the word came without warning. the head of the cia resigning. admitting in a letter he cheated on his wife. >> at this point it seems to me that there is a real personal tragedy involving general petraeus.

>> harris: tonight, reaction from the president, what it means for american intelligence. and the potential effect on the investigation into the benghazi attack. i'm harris faulkner in tonight for shepard smith. fox news has learned an fbi investigation exposed the affair. sources say agents were investigating a bigger case that led them to the other woman. the woman wrote a book about general petraeus called on in. he broke the news to the president yesterday face to face at the white house asking to resign as cia director for what he called personal reasons. today general petraeus told cia staffers, quote: after being married for over 37 years i showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in extramarital affair. such behavior is unacceptable. both as a husband and a leader of the organization such as ours. this afternoon, president obama graciously accepted my

resignation. general petraeus was set to testify on capitol hill next week about the terror attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. tonight, fox news has learned he will not be testifying. we have team fox coverage now. ed henry with reaction from the white house. first though to chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge live from our d.c. newsroom. catherine, you're now uncovering much more about the investigation that led to this other woman. >> well, thank you, harris. as soon as the story broke this evening that petraeus was resigning, sources began pointing toward paula broadwell the author of that biography as part of this extramarital affair it came to light as part of an fbi investigation that led to a broader case. in the course of that investigation, broadwell's name came up, tracking broadwell, woe believe, through internet traffic led to petraeus and there was some concern of the fbi of a possible security security brea. though we are told there is notified of that effect. paula broadwell.com. what we show she is married, has two young boys and lives

in charlotte, north carolina. she loves outdoors activities running. david petraeus is also an avid runner. the speed at which this transpired was mind blowing as one senior official described it to fox. harris? >> harris: well, catherine, what will all this mean for next week's hearing on benghazi? >> well, late today fox news told general petraeus is gone from the agency. he is not going to be testifying next week on capitol hill. and the most likely scenario is that the acting director, michael more relevant could take his place as morrell is the most read in on the consulate attack at the agency. next week's hearings are supposed to be the most intense to diet on the scandal. half a dozen hearings. general petraeus was criticized for appearing wedded to the administration's initial statements that the attack was a flash mob before this story of the resignation broke tonight, a senior senator saying next week's hearings are key. >> i think all of us want to understand what was happening

then. was there a failure at the intelligence area? i have had conversations with both clapper and petraeus. and, you know, i think people are still probably fairly upset that, you know, the misleading comments that were made were made. >> questioning whether they may still be able to call or subpoena petraeus to testify. now that they is a private citizen, harris. >> harris: very element of all of this. catherine, as you said so well, the details breaking very fast on this friday on this story. thank you. president obama praising general petraeus for his extraordinary service to the nation. he had only been cia director for a little bit more than a year after commanding u.s. forces in iraq and afghanistan. ed henry is live for us at the white house. how much did this catch the white house off guard. >> big time, harris. officials here say they were stunned when general petraeus came over here to the white house yesterday and revealed this to the president after calling over saying he wanted to have a meeting. the president put out a statement a short time ago

praising general petraeus. he said, in part. he is one of the outstanding general officers of his generation helping our military adapt to new challenges and leading our men and women in uniform through a remarkable period of service in iraq and afghanistan where he helped our nation put those wars on a path to spoobs cybil end as director of the central intelligence agency he has continued to serve with characteristic, intellectual rigor, dedication and patriotism. that's important to note. the mention of iraq and afghanistan, this is a general who bridged the last two administrations. he helped -- he was the architect of the surge in rawng in 2007 under then president bush and then helped guide the war in afghanistan through some very difficult times under this president. so, republics and democrats alike, he has been serving under, harris. >> harris: ed, as you lay it out like that. it begs the question about the context. the relationship between these two men. between the president and the cia director. because this is pretty personal stuff is he sharing.

it is a complicated relationship. they butted heads and had tension early on in the obama administration about whether or not the president was pulling out iraq too quickly. whether or not the president was sending enough troops to afghanistan. general petraeus was in the middle of all of that. and then, of course, there was the speculation on the outside that maybe general petraeus would either serve as the president or vice presidential nominee on the republic ticket this time around running against president obama. that obviously never happened. and we should remember that they worked together through some tough times. general stanley mcchrystal a couple of years ago had an indiscretion where he spoke out to rolling stone magazine he had to resign. president obama desperately needed somebody to go to afghanistan and general petraeus did that. he basically accepted a lower rank in order to go back into the field. an idea of just how much he did to serve his country, harris. >> harris: moments ago catherine herridge was reporting the fast breaking nature of this story and how quickly it came together. there was something that was leading up to this. there is a process, a resignation process. so does the president just accept it right away?

did advisors weigh? >> they weigh in. he did not accept it right await a minute general petraeus offered this up last night as he explained to the president in person what was developing much the president only accept this resignation we're told in a phone call today with general petraeus. almost 24 hours passing. what goes on there, obviously there was weighing going on here within the administration not just at the white house but probably consultations with capitol hill about whether or not he could get past. this whether or not this would cripple him as cia director. i would tell you in the end the president decided it was best to accept it dianne feinstein the chair of the senate intelligence committee says she does not excuse this behavior but she wishes the president did not accept the resignation because she thinks general petraeus was that good as a cia director. harris? >> ed henry outside the white house tonight. thank you very much. continuing coverage ahead of the resignation of cia director david petraeus. we'll talk with with the anchor of "special report." bret baier about what the move means and what the retired general is telling his closest colleagues about this

decision. stay close.

>> harris: we are starting to hear from sources close to the outgoing cia director david petraeus about his thousand on the extramarital scandal that's ending his career. bret baier anchors "special report" right here on fox news channel. he joins me now from washington. bret, let's start with the fbi investigation that led to the affair to finding out about. this investigators seemed to kind of stumble on to the whole thing. >> yeah, harris. this was first reported today byron kessler at news max. but quickly, other news organizations, including our own, here at fox, we got a lot of tips from a lot of different sources that the fbi had this broad investigation looking into paula broadwell. a biographer of david petraeus. and they came on to her name because they into this broad investigation that they felt david petraeus was possibly

being blackmailed or that he possibly could be the victim of a security breach. it turned out that was not the case. but that's what led them to this discovery of an affair. and emails between petraeus and broadwell. and how long the fbi knew that and whether it went up the chain all the way to the white house. i think is really a big part of this investigation and how it all fits together. >> you know, bret, just three nights ago you were anchor our coverage on election night. there is really no escaping the politics of this. namely the timing of it. coming on the heels of the president's re-election and the fact that the terror attack that opened on his watch is under investigation. >> sure. i mean, this comes, as you mentioned, right after the election. it was a shock. you talk to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. and they were stunned up on capitol hill. many of them putting out statements about praising david petraeus for his career not only as a military officer but at the cia. disappointed that he is no longer going to be there. but, as you mentioned, it also comes five days before his

testimony scheduled on the benghazi hearings. the attack in libya that led to the death of and the murder of the u.s. ambassador and three others. now, there is nothing to say that he couldn't testify before those hearings. he is not scheduled to now. but he could be subpoenaed. he could be compelled to testify or he could voluntarily testify. he still could testify but as of right now, he is not scheduled to. >> well, you know, bret, i know from your reporting earlier today. you have beenworking the story. i understand at least one of your sources has spoken directly to petraeus. and it's one thing to issue a statement, a press release. but what is petraeus telling his closest friends, his colleagues? >> yeah. he was obviously emotional today. adamant that he wanted his story out there, that he was -- had nothing to do with benghazi, that he was anxious to tell -- to get up there on capitol hill and testify about benghazi, that he wasn't

pressured. he was -- this was a personal decision that he was -- the timing of this was his own timing. that he wasn't pressured by the white house. this is what he was telling his close friends. obviously, it raised eyebrows here in washington but his closest friends say, you know, they believe him 100%. this is a guy who is, as you know, put in a lot of time for the u.s. and served honorably. there are a lot of people who are just asking a lot of questions tonight about the surrounding elements of this. especially with the fbi investigation and how much the white house knew about that investigation and when they knew it? >> bret baier, thank you very much for breaking it down for us. joining us, of course, bret anchors "special report" week nights at 6:00 p.m. eastern right before this program. bret, good to he sue, thank you. less than two months to go until we are set to plunge off the so-called fiscal cliff.

so now that the election is over, can congress and the president cut a deal to pull us back from the brink? >> i'm open to compromise. i'm open to new ideas. >> i think we both understand that trying to find a way to avert the fiscal cliff is important for our country. >> harris: tonight, with taxes set to go up for millions of americans and spending cuts to take effect, our nation's leaders look for a solution. u h?

it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here.

hairs haters president obama and house speaker john boehner say they are ready to work together to keep the country from plunging off the so-called fiscal cliff. economists say the combination of tax hikes and spending cuts set to kick in at the end of the year could trigger another

recession and higher unemployment. the president saying he has invited leaders of both parties to the white house next week to try to work out a deal. but he and the speaker still are sticking to their guns when it comes to it raising taxes on the richest americans. >> i'm not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people, like me, making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes. >> the problem with raising tax rates on the wealthiest americans is that more than half of them are small business owners. raising tax rates will slow down our ability to create the jobs that everyone says they want. >> harris: the white house says the president will veto any bill that extends tax cuts on incomes of more than $200,000. it is deja vu all over again, rich edson. he joins us from fox business network live in washington. rich, any idea how close they are to reaching a keel here? >> well, harris, they are just getting started of.

earlier this week house speaker john boehner offered his position. this afternoon it was the president's turn. they have got some ground to cover to get a deal done. the white house says americans voted tuesday for tax increases on the wealthy. boehner says he is open to more revenue from taxpayers if it's part of an overhaul to the entire tax code. there are way to get this done. it's likely going to take weeks of high level negligencations and they begin at the white white house next w, harris. >> harris: what is this doing to the markets our 401(k)'s? >> u.s. markets just wrapped worst week since june. much of it because of concerns about the fiscal cliff. it takes half a trillion dollars out of the economy next year alone through spending cuts and tax increases. analysts say it would likely lead to another recession. today, the major indices managed only slight gain. the dow jones industrial average rose 4. the nasdaq settled up 9. the s&p increased 2. all three dropped at least 2% for the week. harris? >> harris: rich edson, thank you very much.

we will be watching it you watch it with us. thank you. remember that jetblue pilot who ran through the cabin screaming about jesus and al qaeda? we learned he is about to go free. former pilot clayton osborne does not have to be committed to a mental facility the all. the first officer locked osborn out of the cockpit after he started ram bring about religion during a flight from new york to las vegas last march. in osborn began yelling about iran, iraq, and 9/11. and trying to break into the flight deck, the first officer got on the loud speaker and told passengers and crew to, quote: restrain the captain. and they did. he he was charged with an interfering with a flight crew but a court found him not guilty by reason of insanity. a doctor testified osborn had a brief psychotic disorder triggered by sleep. is he free to move about the country. but is he not allowed to fly on any airplane, not as a pilot nor a passenger. well, the suspect in a shooting rampage that lasted

weeks pleading not guilty in court today. police say this man fired his gun two dozen times over three weeks last month. he was aiming at cars, minivans, pickup truck. police say they found no pattern really to the shootings. but all of them were along michigan's interstate 96 which runs east to west across the state. investigators saying only one person was hurt, thankfully and not badly. prosecutors arguing the shootings demonstrate, a, quote, threat of terror. the suspect's mother telling the detroit free press newspaper her son may be mentally ill. if the court convicts him on any of the 8 counts of attempted murder, he could face life in prison. well, the chairman of the house homeland security committee is now reacting to the petraeus bombshell. coming up, my interview with representative peter king on the cia director's sudden exit. and more than 10 days after super storm sandy struck. hundreds of thousands of people in the northeast still living a nightmare.

after long lines and a ton of time just sitting, new york city and long island began rationing gasoline. we believe that we'll help mitigate the worst of our problems. >> but some people are not convinced. >> this is horrible. >> in moments, a region struggling to recover from two storms. where so many people are still living without power for heat or hot water. we're watching a controversial move to solve the problem at the pump. [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest, scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the market, he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees.

so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function.

unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. [ male announcer ] it started long ago. the joy of giving something everything you've got. it takes passion. and it's not letting up anytime soon. at unitedhealthcare insurance company,

we understand that commitment. and always have. so does aarp, an organization serving the needs of americans 50 and over for generations. so it's no surprise millions have chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they help cover some of the expenses medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to find out more, request your free decision guide. call or go online today. after all, when you're going the distance, it's nice to have the experience and commitment to go along with you. keep dreaming. keep doing. go long.

j. >> california. the fire broke out early this morning at a burbank wholesaler that sells cigarettes and lighters. firefighters went inside to battle the flames which then drove them back outside. carbon dioxide tanks in the building blowing up. at last word nobody hurt. officials investigating how it started. ohio, a sewer cleaning crew rescued an alligator they say was olympic and nearly frozen in a cleveland sewage pipe. happened just days after the deadline passed to register exotic pets in the state. workers saying they put the 18-inch reptile in a bag of warm water to save it ohio's agriculture department now trying to find the gator a home. michigan. the salvation army kicking off red kettle campaign for the

holidays with a massive lightup version of the familiar pot. it stands 56 feet tall. 25 feet wide and has roughly 25,000 led's. a salvation army spokesman says the charity hopes to raise more than $8 million in the detroit metro area this season. texas. two vietnam veterans reunited with the planes they flew in battle a half century ago. the f 4 aircraft now on display for the public at a flight museum near dallas. that's a fox watch across america. >> harris: i'm harris faulkner in for shepard smith. this is the fox report. tracking developments at this hour. after the resignation of cia director david petraeus. the spy agency confirming he has quit his post. admitting he cheated on his wife of 37 years. with his biographer. those who know him best say

they never saw this coming. jennifer griffin has a long history of covering general petraeus and she is live for us now at the pentagon. jennifer? >> hi, harris, that's true. i have known general petraeus for the past five years. started covering him in iraq during the surge. you have to remember this was a four star general who was almost the definition of moral fiber. he spent years cultivating his image. he was so disciplined he often ran with visiting reporters in iraq, afghanistan, i remember him challenging me to sit ups when i went to interview him in afghanistan after my double mass accept tomorrow. dave petraeus never let anyone win. he was wildly ambitious. he married the west point superintendent's daughter holly petraeus while he was a cadet at the military academy. he had been married to his wife for 37 years. the affair with his biographer paula broadwell may have taken place in afghanistan where she spent nearly a year chronic ling his life in her book all,

in the education of general david petraeus. the author, paula broadwell, spent lot of time in afganistan. it's not clear whether the affair started there. but, if so, general petraeus may face consequences from the military, we're told. they can bring him out of retirement to demote him since affairs are against the uniform code of military justice. harris? >> harris: wow, a decorated general and that could be a possibility. all of this though, jennifer, just to press the story forward overshadowing a time line the pentagon finally released about what happened on september 11th of this year in benghazi, libya. >> that's right. for nearly nine weeks, harris. we at the pentagon have been asking the pentagon for a time line for what happened that night in benghazi at the consulate and at the cia annex. the pentagon finally came out with their time line events from september 11th and 12th and the military time line shows it took nearly a day for a special ops team in europe that is known as a commander's

force to arrive at a staging base in sicily even though it deployed from croatia just a few hours away. they arrived at 7:57 p.m. on september 12th according to the pentagon's time line. a senior u.s. defense official told reporters today that the military did not have armed aircraft that could have responded in time to help the americans fighting off attackers at the cia annex until 5:25 the next morning, about seven hours after the consulate was attacked and ambassador chris stevens went missing. adding, quote: the u.s. military is neither omniscient nor okay my present. harris? >> harris: so much to come on this story no doubt. despite the general's admission of an extramarital affair, members of both political parties today praised his service to the nation. earlier i spoke with peter king, chairman of the homeland house security committee. i asked him about his initial reaction to this. >> i am really saddened.

i have a tremendous regard for general petraeus. he was not only an outstanding military leader but he was a truly unique american. i mean, i had the opportunity to spend time with him. as a member of the intelligence committee, we work closely with him, the cia director. when he was head of centcom i was down at the command post. i had dinner with him. met him when he was in iraq as a two star general and have always had the highest admiration. in fact, back in 2009, i actually put out a statement you remembering him -- urging him to run for president in 2012. this is obviously a tragedy for general petraeus. it's also a tremendous loss for the country to not have a man of his capability and dedication, you know, working in our government. >> harris: i know, perhaps the next time you would have seen him potentially would have been next week as we see that hearings are opening up on capitol hill. to get to the bottom of exactly what happened the night our consulate was attacked september 11th of this year in libya. he was one of the people who would have been in the seat

for you to ask questions. how does his departure from the cia affect the investigation? >> as far as i'm concerned general petraeus should still testify. he would be -- questions he would asked were not about what he was doing as cia director now or director now but what happened in lead up to benghazi. what happened during benghazi and what happened to the days afterwards when the story came out about this being a spontaneous incident caused by a video as opposed to a terrorist attack. no, i think to me general petraeus is still maybe the most essential witness of all. so, i believe he should testify. if he needs a few days, that's one thing to compose himself but, no. i definitely believe that general petraeus is absolutely essential witness. >> harris: congressman, fox news has learned that at this point he is not on that witness list. >> is that from the senate and

the house? mike rogers is our chairman. i will certainly abide by his ruling. one way or the other, we should have general petraeus testify if not this week then soon after because i don't see how we can put the whole picture together without general petraeus' testimony. i mean, as cia director, he was at the heart of what was happening. in many ways. and, you know, at the very center of that. to me, i don't see how we can have a knowledge of what happened unless david petraeus is a witness before the committee. >> harris: without him, are you saying that the investigation would be halted? >> i'm saying without him the investigation will be incomplete because he is at the center of it. as to because there were cia personnel involved. because of how the event was annualized, what caused him to come before congress and say that it was not a terrorist incident. it was not a terrorist attack. what caused him to entirely by

the, you know, by the video. and also, what he did as far as security before, during and after to me, general petraeus, he is at the centers of all of the main questions about benghazi, pro and con. >> harris: all right. before i let you go, a completely different subject but something that many americans across the country and those of us on the east coast that just simply cannot believe 11 days after the super storm sandy hit. you are out on long island new york right now. >> right. >> an area that has just been punched in the gut by the storm. but now a double punch because now there are fuel shortages, all sorts of things people hadn't anticipated to happen. your thoughts? my district has been devastated. massapequa. long beach. linden, south, they have been disseminated. thousands of people out of their homes. over 100,000 have lost power. the long island power authority has failed miserably. i might have the impression

despite the impression the president gave last week believe we we are living in third world conditions on long island. cold weather coming it's absolute tragedy the poor people involved. i have been down there almost every day with these people in their property. it's something, again, you never thought you would see in the united states of america on the 21st century. >> harris: congressman king, thank you for joining us tonight. >> harris, thank you. >> harris: you have heard him say it, third world conditions in our nation's most populist city. hard to believe. gas rationing is now spreading. earlier today, police here in new york and out on long island started enforcing rationing rules similar to those that we have been living with across the state line in new jersey. the regulations only let drivers fill up their tanks every other day according to their license plates. they call it an odd-even plan. before today, lines have been absolutely insaudi arabia. pretty chaotic. people are just tense. can you imagine waiting in

line for hours and hours for gasoline? burning something you can't afford to live without, fuel. and a lot of stations didn't have enough of it at all. in the wake of super storm sandy. this weekend's or this week's nor'easter made it even worse. now police are keeping a close eye on cars making sure those drivers stick to the new system. reaction? mixed. this is horrible, horrible. >> very frustrating. >> gas, all calm and happy. i'm not getting cursed at no more. god bless america. >> and with gas still in short supply the new york city mayor says this could continue for weeks. "the fox report's" correspondent jonathan hunt live in the newsroom for us tonight. jonathan, the rationing leading to shorter lines yet? >> according to new york city mayor mike bloomberg yes, it is by definition, of course, it should. you are supposed to have half as many cars able to get gas on any given day rah cording to this odd/even rashing.

but still there are still long lines, there are still some very short tempers out there distribution system refineries to gas stations with no power and if you don't have power in the gas stations, you can't run the pumps. so for the moment, at least, and for a couple of weeks, according to mayor mike bloomberg, this kind of scene you are looking at right there is the new normal. harris, for a lot of people. that is bringing back memories and not very fond ones of the gas shortages and the long lines we saw way back in the 1970s, harris. >> harris: i can tell you six days ago they did this over, governor christie did this over in new jersey. it has helped some. still, there are so many other problems on the east coast. we still have, what, half a million people without electricity? >> yeah. that is the biggest single problem in

enough. and according to the new york governor, andrew cuomo, there are some ridiculous problems including a simple shortage of polls. listen. -- poles, listen, they ran out of poles, believe it or not. they ran out of poles. you know, poles are something that utility company would want to have, you would think. right? you look at what a utility company does. it basically comes down to wire and poles. and crews and trucks. these are things you would want to have. how can you run out of poles? >> somehow they did run out of poles. homelessness is also a great problem, of course, harris. tens of thousands of people remain homeless. now, across the board from mayor bloomberg to governor

cuomo, officials are saying it is getting better. but no homes, no power, no gas for a lot of people. they would say that every day it's getting a lot worse. harris? >> harris: that snow storm was no joke. it has been told cold. tough conditions. jonathan, thank you very much. more ahead inside "the fox report." david petraeus suddenly resigning from his job at the head of the cia and admitting an extramarital affair. insight from a former cia operative. stay close. sometimes, i can't believe the things i'm able to do.

without shriners hospitals, my life would be completely different. when i was seven, we found out i had scoliosis. everything changed when they stepped in. it was like they gave me my future back. tori's life is one of nearly a million changed by donations from people like you. send your love to the rescue. donate today. ♪♪ you can help othersnk along the way. ♪ ♪ a portion of every bottle that they sell goes to fight ♪ ♪ breast cancer and i think that's swell. ♪ ♪ the more you take, the more they'll pay, ♪ ♪ so make them write a big check today. ♪ ♪ and if you're feeling a little slow, ♪ ♪ then 5-hour energy will help you go. ♪ ♪ so buy a bottle of pink lemonade and ♪ ♪ you can help fight breast cancer today. ♪

no, no, no, stop! humans -- one day, we're coming up with the theory of relativity, the next... stop, stop, stop! my car! not so much. but that's okay. you're covered with great ideas like optional better car replacemen from liberty mutual insurance. total your car, and we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. learn about it at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility -- what's your policy? >> harris: returning now to fox top story. upheaval at the cia a little on this friday after director david petraeus announced his resignation citing an extra marital affair. the other woman, his biographer, paula broadwell, fbi investigators learned accidently really about the affair after somebody reported suspicious emails from her. they determined she had emailed a number of government

employees including director petraeus petraeus. of course he made a name for himself demanding the wars in iraq and afghanistan. becoming one of the nation's most respected military leaders before taking over at the u.s. central intelligence agency. today's development, taking most everybody by surprise. terrorism analyst and former cia operative wayne simmons joining us now. mr. simmons, good to see you. >> hi, harris. >> also the author of the directive. i know from hearing you talk about the general, you knew him. you were a supporter of his. you still are. were you surprised it hear the news about him resigning? >> and i'm sighing for the big sigh, but, yes, i do know him. he is an outstanding man. he is outstanding american. he he has led america through some very very very difficult times. i think many of us are surprised that these kind of

things happen. i think as you know, harris, i think perhaps and certainly many of my friends here at fox news know i just lost my wife to stage 4 breast cancer in the last two months. and so i'm a little jaded to it. >> harris: hence the sigh. >> we are just a little shocked. here is what i can also tell you. i can tell you with absolute certainty that the -- there are very few at the cia, for whatever reason. that are shedding tears over this. it is not because they think less of general petraeus, it's that because the majority of those at the cia did not believe that he should have been in that position to start

with. >> harris: interesting. so that brings us to the point of what is likely to change when he leaves, who takes over? operationally, what happens? >> that's the $64,000 question. i have some names that i would rather not throw out there. but i will tell you it's going to be very very interesting, especially with the new -- with the new obama administration, with these type of things that have just happened with general petraeus. who, again, is an american hero. and a wonderful man. but, everyone is now going to be banging their head against the wall going, how do we figure this out? and who do we -- who do we put into the -- in my opinion, the single most important position in the intelligence network? >> harris: we just want to remind everybody the cia is leading the drone operation, i

think you are probably alluding to that mr. simmons, before i let you go, i just want to say sorry for the loss of your wife. thank you for giving us some context tonight. >> it's always a flesh. thank you, harris. >> harris: sure. more on our top story. the stunning resignation of cia director david petraeus. the four star general stepping down after admitting to extra marital affair. next a closer look at the career of one of the nation's one time top commanders in iraq and afghanistan. a brilliant career. suddenly shadowed now by scandal. yochoose, based on this chart ? don't rush into it, i'm not looking for the fastest answer. obviously verizon. okay, i have a different chart. going that way, does that make a difference ? look at verizon. it's so much more than the other ones. so what if we just changed the format altogether ? isn't that the exact same thing ? it's pretty clear. still sticking with verizon. verizon.

more 4g lte coverage than all other networks combined. i've been a superintendent for 30 some years at many different park service units across the united states. the only time i've ever had a break is when i was on maternity leave. i have retired from doing this one thing that i loved. now, i'm going to be able to have the time to explore something different. it's like another chapter.

>> more now in our continuing message of general david petraeus' abrupt resignation from the cia. a highly respected four star general stepping down amid scandal saying he cheated on his wife. but it came ahead growing

criticism over the cia's response to the terror attack in libya on our u.s. consulate. joining us now piewltser prize winning journalist and fox news contributor judith miller. she is also an ajungts fellow at the think tank the manhattan institute. judith, always good to see you. my burning question right now and i have talked with several people during the past hour, everybody from a congressman to a personal friend of mr. petraeus. what is it that makes this man so special? is it really that big of a deal that he is departing? >> i think it is harris. this is an extraordinary talented man. it's a man we needed in that job at this point. i will speak as someone who covered him and became a friend, and i must tell you as a commentator that i have known and watched a lot of public figures in my lifetime. i have rarely seen someone who brings to whatever he is doing the energy, discipline and focus that david petraeus

brings. >> harris: was it necessary for him to quit? >> i don't know. that's going to be a decision that he makes himself. he is clearly felt it was. i have talked to several good friends of his. know how upset he is by this. how distressed what this means for his family and for what he he hoped to do in the agency. but i can only tell you that the time i spent covering him was one of the most extraordinarily sensitive of his career. it was at the time that he was moving across iraq. he was moving through iraq as the head of the 101st. and he was looking around and seeing the trouble that lay ahead. he was a man who was focused on the war that most people didn't even know was going to be fought. which was this counter insurgency. and it was he who asked people how do we fight this kind of a war in how do we put together a new doctrine. then he did this extraordinary thing. he sold that doctrine to people who doubted whether or not we should even remain in

iraq. >> all right. real quickly before i let you go. then how do we go forward now? i have been asking people who gets in that seat. who one is irreplaceable but it might be tough it sounds like. >> it's going to be very tough. especially at the moment the deputy who is taking his place is a man of the cia from the inside. >> harris: not a soldier. >> not a soldier. what petraeus brought to this was an outsider's view. someone who had consumed the intelligence that the cia was providing. >> harris: on the ground. >> he he knew what was lacking and he knew what it take to fix the agency. the agency has done remarkably well and made tremendous progress. he was only there for 14 months. it's not a lot of time. this was a man who when diagnosed with cancer in 2009, just immediately turned around and said i will will beat this just as we fought every other war. >> harris: judith miller, thanks very much. appreciate your time. nearly two weeks after the super storm slammed the east coast. so many people on new york and new jersey still waiting for the power to come back on.

they need heat and still waiting for good information that will help them. a live update from one of the worst hit areas on long island. you have been hearing us talk about it let's see it upclose next. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understan at usaa, we know military life is different.

we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help.

if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this.

[ male announcer ] finally, mom's oven-baked tastes straight from the microwave. like oven-roasted chicken in a creamy alfredo sauce. marie callender's new comfort bakes. it's time to savor. >> harris: updating some of our top stories tonight. cia director david petraeus resigning over extramarital affair with his own biographer. comes just days before petraeus was set to testify in congress on the deadly con salute attack in libya. sources telling fox news he will now not testify. the president accepted his resignation and praised the service of petraeus to our nation. hundreds of thousands of customers in the northeast still without electricity after the one-two punch of super storm sandy and a powerful nor'easter that blew through a couple days ago drpg snow. now officials in new york say they may move hundreds of evacuees to an old prison to get them out of the cold. let's go to rick lesson thowl

are with more on this on ocean side new york long island's hard hit shore. the problem isn't just the lack of power but that trash is overwhelming it really is, harris. the city has collected a quarter million tons of debris since the storm hit. a lot of residents here in ocean side have been piling up all their belongings in large construction dumpsters in their driveways. they have been piling it in the streets. until today they hadn't seen sanitation trucks in this neighborhood. earlier today with dedid see sanitation trucks front end loaders scooping up by the shovel full and dump truck full hauling it out of here. it's a problem because of the sewage that mixed in with the water logged debris and residents are worried about mildew in their homes all their furniture and personal belongings, flooring, drywall, anything that got wet had to be hauled out of here. here on long island still 153,000 customers without power tonight. all of them desperately want it back.

look at this tree stump right here. this tree fell down, took out his power lines. even if the power comes back on he won't be able to use it. power issue doesn't affect me. getting power back to my house is not going it help me one way or another. the tree that came down took the service. so i have no electrical service anyway. even if they would repair the infrastructure and restore power, it's not going it help me. i'm not going to be living in this house. >> you know, jim kerrigan is a first responder, is he an emergency management director in the rock aways, harris, the last couple weeks he has been busy with other people's problems. today was the first day that he could come home and deal with his own issues which is basically throwing out everything in his house and starting all over again. you know, there are a lot of stories like his and a lot of people still just beginning to recover from this storm, harris. >> harris: amazing how he and so many others have helped other people before they helped themselves. rick leventhal, thank you all so very much. that's how fox reports on